Dual Strats Build(s)

just wanted to share my current endeavor... 2 strats. One slightly more traditional, one "radical"! Truth be told, after I bought my 25.5" scale rosewood fretboard I was regretting not going with a 25" scale because that sl just fits me... so I figured it isn't that much more work to build 2 so why not, after all - I want me to be happy!

so, got my radius jig somewhat setup. need to fine tune it a bit... trim off the ends, add some teflon spacers from a cutting board to my router mount so it won't rock, and trim off just a hair from the inside of it so it slides a little bit easier. I want a little bit of resistance so I decided to forgo the bearings.

the convex version is sitting on my rails with approx 1.75" of room I could move downward, and the sled is sitting 2.25 high. this is about perfect as the blade needs to stick out 1/2" from the bottom to achieve a 30" radius. adjusting this thing is sort of a pain and since the concave version sits a hair low... think I'll probably just mount a couple of 2x4s to raise the body up instead. have enough clearance to do 22" piece so perfect for a body. a bit tired so this is as far as we go tonight.

last night I roughed out my two necks... learned why birdseye is often called 'rock maple' (it's not because it's meant for rock n roll). long story long I probably ruined a fairly new timber wolf blade with a kink as I tried to back out of a cut and it was bound (saw was off).

kept checking my birdseye and it was stable over the last two weeks (since I rough cut it) so I planed it down and it's ready for final shape cut.

made a template for my gretsch inlays... will lay this at an angle on the fretboard to keep the inlay flat on the radius and then dremel out the areas...

got my set neck stock planed down and sanded...

installed my truss rod in the bolt version. used a bull nose 1/4 in combo with a normal 1/4 bit so that the bottom of the channel is mostly radiused except for the parts where the truss requires a flat bottom. sharpened my chisel and cut some corners... voilla, fits like a glove.

and that's all I got in me today! man am I beat!

========== update 2/23/19 ==========

using my jig to cut the truss access holes in the fretboard... shims to prop it up to square...

and here is my truss access closeup

had a tiny little blowout on the very edge of the bottom wing on the headstock... only about 1/8" but I couldn't find the piece so I routered out about 3/16 x 3/16 x 1/2 and glued on a small piece... area will be covered by headstock overlay and binding anyway. the dark spot is a shallow burn mark where I stopped w my router also will be covered.

and all better!

used a couple of finish nails to line up and hold the bolt version fretboard on...

and..... the moment I've all been waiting for: radius... a lot more physical work than I had anticipated as going from cavity to wood you really have to be careful it doesn't grab... but other than that it went pretty smooth.

Interesting builds, I radius half my models too. I like the idea of cutting out the control cavity all the way thru and then gluing on the top. The tummy cut steps are neat.

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thank you sir. pretty quiet in here so nice to know someone noticed! Never would have guessed that my 'steps' would be so popular but several people have commented on them at other forums... was just a means to an end but nice to hear all the same! thank you again.

maybe I missed it, but did you make your own pickups, or just veneer them? they look great!
I'm intrigued with your radius'er, very crafty. I could really use something like that!
Keep up the great work!

maybe I missed it, but did you make your own pickups, or just veneer them? they look great!
I'm intrigued with your radius'er, very crafty. I could really use something like that!
Keep up the great work!

Click to expand...

thanks for the reply. I haven't gone down the 'wind-yer-own' rabbet hole yet. These are bootstraps. I just roughed up the top of the covers, took some veneer and used ca glue to apply to the top. Then took needle files and worked it over.
thank you on the radius! I've got an idea of how to do a compound radius, and then how to expand on that into a 3d radius... just in my head at this point tho. THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH DAY IN A DAY!!!!